In his talk, cultural historian Stefan Höhne shows that throughout the course of the twentieth century, New York City subway passengers struggled to navigate the system’s constraints while striving for individuality, or at least a smooth ride. When the subway first opened with much fanfare on October 27, 1904, New York became a city of underground passengers almost overnight. In his award-winning book, now published with MIT Press, Stefan Höhne examines how the experiences of subway passengers in New York City were intertwined with cultural changes in urban mass society throughout the twentieth century. He argues that underground transportation—which early passengers found both exhilarating and distressing—changed perceptions, interactions, and the organization of everyday life.